How I Feel When People Tell Me I Ought To Go Back To School
There is something seriously out of whack with out higher education system, and it should bother everyone. The problem is that there is a serious imbalance between the amount of time and money companies want us to spend on training, versus what they would spend on time and money to train us themselves. Every time someone says to me that I should go back to school and finish my degree, I can't bring myself to submit to that system again.
I mean, just think about it. Companies expect us to spend four years (1,460 days) of our life to get degrees in things like accounting, business administration or business management, communications, marketing, or finance. That, or they want you to spend 1 to 2 years getting an associates or certification in things like administrative assistant or medical billing. While I believe getting a certificate is a lot more bang for your buck and whole lot less time wasted, its still really excessive compared to how quickly a company could give you the specialized training they need out of a candidate.
Don't get me wrong, there are some fields that I completely agree with requiring a 4 year degree to get in. Like being a surgeon. That isn't easy stuff, and you need the training. Or a teacher. Not just anybody has the aptitude to teach; (good) teachers just often aren't paid what they deserve. But for things like accounting? Medical billing? Or many other fields. Just think of one yourself that I may not have mentioned. Now seriously think to yourself, how much easier would it be if in that field for a company to provide quick specialized training in exactly what it is they want out of the candidate with the right aptitude for the job? Any sort of finance job requires that you have good math skills. You know, adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, understanding percents, decimals and fractions. You get that in high school. Mechanical fields like repairing motor engines or assembling machines? A company could easily offer a 3 or 4 month apprenticeship to get a person used to the field and the company, and they are a good learner, they'll be ready to go.
That's just how I feel about it. Long story short, I feel like very few occupations are worth the time and money of a college degree. And I feel like companies have extremely unrealistic views on what makes a good candidate. And it doesn't seem like anyone is thinking a simpler and more efficient system. It is quite frustrating. Especially for someone like me. I don't feel like I need a 4-year degree to have "an eye for detail" or "sharp arithmetic skills." I don't need to pick up $25,000 in debt in order to have "excellent leadership and communications skills" or to be able to compile a database or complex business projects.
Again, these are just my thoughts on the subject. I'd be very interested to hear what you guys think about it!
I mean, just think about it. Companies expect us to spend four years (1,460 days) of our life to get degrees in things like accounting, business administration or business management, communications, marketing, or finance. That, or they want you to spend 1 to 2 years getting an associates or certification in things like administrative assistant or medical billing. While I believe getting a certificate is a lot more bang for your buck and whole lot less time wasted, its still really excessive compared to how quickly a company could give you the specialized training they need out of a candidate.
Don't get me wrong, there are some fields that I completely agree with requiring a 4 year degree to get in. Like being a surgeon. That isn't easy stuff, and you need the training. Or a teacher. Not just anybody has the aptitude to teach; (good) teachers just often aren't paid what they deserve. But for things like accounting? Medical billing? Or many other fields. Just think of one yourself that I may not have mentioned. Now seriously think to yourself, how much easier would it be if in that field for a company to provide quick specialized training in exactly what it is they want out of the candidate with the right aptitude for the job? Any sort of finance job requires that you have good math skills. You know, adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, understanding percents, decimals and fractions. You get that in high school. Mechanical fields like repairing motor engines or assembling machines? A company could easily offer a 3 or 4 month apprenticeship to get a person used to the field and the company, and they are a good learner, they'll be ready to go.
That's just how I feel about it. Long story short, I feel like very few occupations are worth the time and money of a college degree. And I feel like companies have extremely unrealistic views on what makes a good candidate. And it doesn't seem like anyone is thinking a simpler and more efficient system. It is quite frustrating. Especially for someone like me. I don't feel like I need a 4-year degree to have "an eye for detail" or "sharp arithmetic skills." I don't need to pick up $25,000 in debt in order to have "excellent leadership and communications skills" or to be able to compile a database or complex business projects.
Again, these are just my thoughts on the subject. I'd be very interested to hear what you guys think about it!